It refers to the ability of people to participate in social life and then step back and analyze the broader meaning of what is going on.

It is also coined by C. Wright Mills in his 1959 book titled The Sociological Imagination.

What are the two basic principles of sociology?

The two basic principles of sociology are the Social Environment Principle and Verstehen Principle.

What is the Verstehen principle?

According to Max Weber, he believed that people must put themselves in the shoes of other people and see things from their point of view to understand human behavior.

What is the Social Environment?

Emile Durkheim believed that it was important to look at the social environment to understand human behavior.

Who are the three major fountainheads of sociology?

Karl Marx

Max Weber

Emile Durkheim

What are the three things Marx, Weber, and Durkheim had in common?

All three were...

White men from Europe

political activists

interested in social change at the macro level

Who was Karl Marx?

a White man born in Germany 1818

died in 1883

published Das Kapital (a.k.a. Capital "The Money") in 1867

he studied the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat

Bourgeoisie

(a.k.a. Capitalists)

Marx took the position that the capitalists exploit the labor of the working class to make as much profit as possible.

Proletariat

(a.k.a. Working Class)

Marx took the position that people in the working class sell their labor to the capitalists to get food, clothing, shelter, etc.

Who was Max Weber?

White man born in Germany 1864

died in 1920

published The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1904

studied the Protestant Capitalists and Catholic Capitalists

Protestant Capitalists studied by Max Weber

frugality

abstinence

salvation...

through reinvesting profits back into the business

Catholic Capitalists studied by Max Weber

frugality

abstinence

salvation...

through good deeds such as helping the poor (from teachings of Christ in The Bible)

Who was Emile Durkheim?

White man born in France in 1858

died in 1917

published Suicide in 1897

studied people commiting suicide in rural and urban areas

What did Emile Durkheim find from studying people that commited suicide in rural and urban areas?

His findings showed that in urban areas there was less social solidarity and social integration than in rural areas.

Who are the four periphereal fountainheads of sociology?

W. E. B. Du Bois

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Jane Addams

Harriet Martineau

What were the two things Du Bois, Wells-Barnett, Addams, and Martineau had in common?

all four have not gotten their full due and credit in sociology because of racism and sexism

all four were political activists

Who was W. E. B. Du Bois?

Black man born in Massachusetts in 1868

died in 1963

published The Philadelphia Negro

studied The Talented Tenth and The Black Masses

Who was The Talented Tenth?

Black men, women, and children who had managed to reach relatively high levels of education, income, wealth, and occupational prestige despite social policies of the color line and the effects of the Veil

Du Bois believed that The Talented Tenth had a special obligation and responsibility to help the Black Masses through their struggles against the social policies of the color line and the effects of the Veil

Who was The Black Masses?

the other 90% of Black men, women, and children who had not managed to reach to the educational, income and occupational prestige of The Talented Tenth

Du Bois believed that The Black Masses should strive to raise their levels of education, income, and occupational prestige despite the social policies of the color line and the effects of the Veil

Who was Ida B. Wells-Barnett?

Black woman born in Mississippi in 1862

died in 1931

published A Red Record in 1895

her grandson is a well-known sociologist at UC Berkeley, named Troy Duster

she studied Black and Whites that were lynched

Ida B. Wells-Barnett study of Black people that were lynched

she took the position that most Black people got lynched for...

being prosperous

trying to vote

or were seen as uppity by racist or jealous White people

Ida B. Wells-Barnett study of White people that lynched Black people

she took the position that many of the White people lynching Black people came from

upper rungs of society and not just poor White people

Example: the Sheriff was present, schools stopped to view lynching

Who was Jane Addams?

White woman born in Illinois in 1860

died in 1935

published Hull-House Maps and Papers in 1895

she studied prosperous White people and poor White people

received World Peace Prize for attempts to stop the World War in 1931

Addams study of prosperous White people

she took the position that prosperous White people had a special obligation and responsibility to help poor White people adjust to living in urban areas by helping them raise their levels of education, income, wealth, and occupational prestige

Addams study of poor White people

she took the position that poor White people should strive to adjust to urban areas by raising their levels of education, income, wealth, and occupational prestige

Who was Harriet Martineau?

White woman born in England in 1802

died in 1876

published Society in America in 1837

studied oppressed enslaved Africans and oppressed White women

Oppressed Enslaved Africans studied by Martineau

she took the position that slavery should be abolished and that the founders of this country were hypocrites for holding enslaved Africans in bondage

Oppressed White Women studied by Martineau

she took the position that girls should have the opportunity to be educated and have professional careers and not just be raised to breed children

What are the three major sociological perspectives?

Conflict

Interactionist

Functionalist

Conflict Theoretical Perspective

..helps to understand how power affects the distribution of scarce resources and how conflict can change society.

Key concepts: conflict, dominance, power, and interest.

Interactionist Theoretical Perspective

... helps to understand how social structures are created in the course of human interaction.